Bulldogs Compete for Ivy League Championship

Apr 17, 2008

April 17, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn -
The Yale men's golf team will head to the Galloway National Golf Club in New Jersey to compete for the Ivy League Championship this weekend. That's not all the Bulldogs will be playing for, though. The NCAA's recent change to a system that awards at-large bids to the NCAA tournament based on national rankings, as opposed to district rankings, places even more emphasis on this weekend's event. With at-large bids tougher to come by, the automatic NCAA tournament berth that comes from winning the Ivy championship becomes even more valuable.

Penn took the Ivy crown last year but that will not deter any of the perennial powerhouses. It has been all Princeton and Yale going back to 1980. Princeton has claimed six of the last eight Ivy League titles and 15 since 1980. Yale's last title came in 2003, but the Bulldogs have won eight going back to 1980.

For the Bulldogs this year it will be all about playing the course and not the opponent.

"Three of our guys played the course last year and we know it has quick greens," said junior Colby Moore. "We are not looking to turn this into a match play tournament and go head-to-head with certain teams. We are going to play our game and play the course."

The Bulldogs are coming off a big win last weekend at the New England Championship, where they beat Harvard, Dartmouth and Brown. But other teams in the Ivy League have also won tournaments this year.

"Penn won last year, they'll be tough," said sophomore Ben Wescoe. "Columbia and Cornell both won tournaments in the fall, and of course, Harvard won our tournament."

If last week is any indication, though, the Bulldogs should be looking ahead to success.

"On paper we are definitely one of the favorites going into this weekend," said Moore.

The tournament will be played over two days, starting Saturday, April 19.